Berkshire Hathaway 8-K

PositiveEarnings

Investment gains and the prior-year Kraft Heinz impairment drove the GAAP earnings surge; BNSF and energy lifted operating earnings.

Filed 2026-08-11 15:52 ET

Summary

Q2 and first-half 2026 results. Berkshire’s GAAP earnings rose sharply, while operating earnings grew more moderately; investment gains and a prior-year impairment affected the comparison. Berkshire cautioned that investment gains can make quarterly net earnings per share misleading and said operating earnings exclude those gains.

Key Figures

Metric Q2 2026 Q2 2025 Y/Y
Net earnings attributable to Berkshire shareholders $25.7B $12.4B 107%
Operating earnings (non-GAAP) $13.0B $11.2B 16.3%
Net earnings per average equivalent Class B share $11.91 $5.73 108%
Metric First six months 2026 First six months 2025 Y/Y
Net earnings attributable to Berkshire shareholders $35.8B $17.0B 111%
Operating earnings (non-GAAP) $24.3B $20.8B 17.0%
Net earnings per average equivalent Class B share $16.59 $7.87 111%
  • Investment gains were $12.7B in Q2 2026 vs $5.0B a year earlier, and $11.4B in the first six months vs a $68M loss. The 2025 comparisons included a $3.76B Kraft Heinz impairment in both periods.
  • Operating earnings increased as manufacturing, service and retailing, BNSF and Berkshire Hathaway Energy earnings rose; insurance underwriting and insurance investment income declined.
  • Berkshire repurchased $4.5B of shares in Q2 and $4.8B in the first six months. Average equivalent Class A shares outstanding fell 0.12% Y/Y in Q2 and 0.066% for the first six months. Insurance float was $177.5B, up $1.1B from year-end 2025.

Guidance

No guidance in this filing.

Investor Takeaways

  • Future results are best assessed through operating earnings and segment performance; investment gains can materially distort reported net earnings.

The summary is written by an AI model reading the filing.

Model 005 · prompt 01d34d48e3

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